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Stocks Open To Tight Gains; This Dow Leader Up More Than 90% In 2017 | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis

The final trading session of 2017 turned mixed just after the open, as big tech names dragged on early trade.

X The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 opened less than 0.1% higher. The Nasdaq Composite fought to remain in positive territory as Apple (AAPL) slipped 0.6% and Amazon.com (AMZN) dropped 0.5%.

The Dow entered Friday’s session up 0.3% for the week, compared with a 0.2% gain for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq’s 0.1% decline.

For 2017, the Nasdaq is up 29.1% through Thursday, the Dow has a 25.7% gain, vs. a 20% gain for the S&P 500. It was the best year for all three indexes since 2013. Small caps ran behind the overall market, with the Russell 2000 rising 14.1%, decelerating from its 19.6% advance in 2016.

Bond trading will wrap up early, at 2 p.m. ET today, and both stock and bond markets will be closed for the New Year holiday on Monday.

The Dow produced some startling gains for the year, with Boeing (BA) rocketing more than 90% through Thursday and Caterpillar (CAT) posting a 70% gain. Apple (AAPL) soared nearly 48%, just ahead of a 47% jump by Visa (V) and Wal-Mart’s (WMT) advance of almost 44%.

General Electric (GE) closes the year at the bottom of the list, with its shares down 45% year-to-date at Thursday’s close.

Travelers (TRV) led the Dow in opening trade, up 0.4% and edging the stock closer to its Dec. 4 high.

Among FANG stocks, Netflix (NFLX) opened 0.1% higher, remaining positive after a 3.5% jump in strong trade Thursday. The company is changing its pay structure for a number of top executives, converting cash bonuses into salaries due to revamped tax rules, according to Bloomberg. The stock enters Friday’s session with a 56% gain for the year, and working to secure support at its 10-week moving average, below a 204.48 buy point.

For the year, Netflix and Amazon.com took the FANG stock prize, each rising a bit more than 58% through Thursday. Netflix’ advance included powerful breakouts in July and October. Amazon started the year with a breakout in January, then posted another, stronger break in October.

Floor & Decor (FND) fell 1%, Daqo New Energy (DQ) jumped nearly 3% at the start of trade. Two of the week’s front runners among IBD 50 stocks, Daqo is up nearly 15% for the week, extended and trekking to new highs after an October breakout. Floor & Decor has a 10% gain in the holiday-shortened week, putting it 7% above a 46.34 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.

Telecom gear maker Adtran (ADTN) dived 13% before the open. The company warned its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue would come in far short of analyst expectations, due to a “merger-related review” and by a spending slowdown by a key customer. Adtran shares have been consolidating since a breakout attempt failed in October.

Bitcoin traded above $14,600, down about 14% from Wednesday’s high and 4% above its price late last Friday. Futures were up about 5% each on the Cboe and CME exchanges. Among Bitcoin-related stocks:

Riot Blockchain (RIOT): +2.6%

Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC): +7.6%

Marathon Patent Group (MARA): +1.4%

Overstock.com (OSTK): +1.2%

Long Blockchain (LTEA): +1.7%

London Stocks Surge; Rig Count Coming Up

Markets were up and down across Asia on Friday, with China’s benchmarks posting moderate gains and, in Japan, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closing effectively flat. European markets were more widely mixed, with the FTSE 100 in London surging 0.9%, while the CAC-40 in Paris shed 0.1% and Frankfurt’s DAX slipped 0.5%.